Artificial Afrika

Vernon Reid discusses the concept and the genesis of his new multi-media performance project, Artificial Afrika. The videos and music are all created by Vernon Reid and are drawn from the piece.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Vernon Reid
• Artificial Afrika
• Living Colour
• Africa
• artificial
• Afrika
• video
• performing arts
• art
• multi-media
• APAP
• Leon Lamont
• Akim Funk Buddha
• Mitch Goldman

[DoctorBoggle]

Look for Artificial Afrika to tour spring of 2012.

[puhdussyrampage2010]

ugh boring artsy fartsy shit! blood diamonds!

[inouyde]

Sounds like an exploration of how more knowledge (data, facts, news events) doesn't necessarily lead to true understanding of culture, people, etc.

[aquacanela13]

this is ahead of the curve and the comments show that great art always provokes controversy and that people are not willing to let go of their rights and wrongs about their idea about the continent. this is not a documentary folks.

[StevenHoste]

Nice work. But I think there was a small mistake: on the part of the leopard skin hat at 0:20 you're refering to Robert Mugabe whereas the picture used represents Joseph Désiré Mobutu.

[livingcolourmusic]

@leftoffcolfax Vernon Reid presents Artificial Afrika, a multimedia work based on the various ways that the West has mythologized and invented an image of “African culture,” through appropriation of mythology, religious traditions, visual and musical forms. The work includes a multi-screen video exhibit that is itself a kind of appropriation using digitally manipulated images as genuinely African–and music that is a hi-tech, up-tempo blend of guitar, electronic sounds digital processing.

[lnmglnmg]

I appreciate what you are saying but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with this piece.

[leftoffcolfax]

@lnmglnmg Then why call it an Artificial Afrika if the work is not to be involving Africa, regardless of the spelling? And it doesn't even have to involve African events. Could involve African culture, themes, landscapes? Something readily identifiable as Africa? A doll head on a vibrating floor does not speak of a continent.

Second, you can't characterize an entire continent with one phrase. Or a full line. Or even a 5 minute spot on NatGeo. You take each issue in full or you cheapen them all.

[lnmglnmg]

leftoffcolfax, did you bother listening to what the man says? He specifically states that the piece is not about "actual events on the African continent" so whether or not the "average person" identifies them as such or not is entirely irrelevant.

On your second "point," he's not saying that that it might not be true that there are child soldiers but that that fact might not be a fair characterization of an entire continent.

You don't really want to understand this, do you?

[leftoffcolfax]

He lost my thumbs-up in two places.

First, if the animation sequence featured is indicative of the art used as a backdrop to his greater work, then he should rethink. Of all the clips used, only the segment from 3:29 to 4:40 have a visual that the average person can identify with actual events on the African continent.

Second, the " these maybe mistaken ideas" line at 2:50. There is nothing mistaken about child soldiers, extreme starvation, and other horrid realities experienced every day.